Takeaway

The one thing Washington could not afford to do against No. 1 Alabama it did twice: Turn the ball over. Killer giveaways, both in the second quarter, handed the defending national champion Crimson Tide 10 points to launch a 24-7 victory over the Huskies in Saturday's Peach Bowl at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta that ended UW's underdog dream of a national title (box).

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Aside from those making the 200-mile drive between Tuscaloosa and Atlanta, everyone in the American sports world is a Washington Huskies football fan this weekend.

Everyone. Because no one outside Alabama likes the Crimson Tide. Respect? Yes. Like? No.

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Three Decembers ago, after Jim Mora officially removed himself from consideration to replace USC-bound Steve Sarkisian as head football coach at the University of Washington, Merle “Skip” Hall telephoned one of his contacts in the school’s athletic department and recommended strongly that Boise State head coach Chris Petersen be given a serious look.

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In mid-December 1925, 90 years before Stanford’s Christian McCaffrey and LSU’s Leonard Fournette said they would skip 2016-17 bowl games in order to prep for the NFL draft, University of Washington running back George Wilson pulled aside his coach, Enoch Bagshaw, and told him that he did not want to play in the 1926 Rose Bowl against Alabama.

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Against a 13-0 team that has the depth of talent of Alabama's Crimson Tide, there are no easy tasks. For the University of Washington in the Peach Bowl college football playoff semifinal (noon Saturday, ESPN), however, it's all on the defense to make the upset possible.  The offense will be busy keeping from being eaten.

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Any list of the biggest wins in University of Washington football history starts with the 1960 Rose Bowl trampling of Wisconsin (44-8), the Huskies’ only victory of national import in the program’s first seven decades. The list of memorables also includes two other Rose Bowl triumphs, both at Michigan’s expense: 1978, which kick-started the Don James program, and 1991, which earned James and UW a share of the national championship.

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With the college football exhibition season inflicted upon us, and before we get to the only three postseason games that matter, it is a worthy moment to salute Heisman Trophy-caliber RB Christian McCaffrey, who made a business decision Monday to sit out Stanford's Sun Bowl game against North Carolina. That Stanford education may be worth something, after all.

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The University of Alabama, Washington's opponent in the Dec. 31 Peach Bowl in Atlanta, which serves as a national semifinal playoff game, Friday named former Huskies head coach Steve Sarkisian as its new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, replacing Lane Kiffin, who accepted a job as head coach at Florida Atlantic this week.

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Washington State left guard Cody O'Connell has been named first-team All-America by the Associated Press while wide receiver John Ross and safety Budda Baker of Washington earned second-team recognition. O'Connell is the first consensus All-America for the Cougars since running back Jerome Harrison in 2005.

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The arrival of Washington among the heavy equipment of the college football industry allows a Seattle viewer of the selection process to offer an opinion that cannot be criticized with charges of homerism.

The opinion: My, that sucked.

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The Heisman Trophy award ceremony in New York Saturday will not have Jake Browning as one of the five finalists, despite the records he set as the Huskies' sophomore quarterback.

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Washington overcame the nation's second-worst strength of schedule (127th out of 128 FBS teams) and was awarded the No. 4 seed in the college football playoffs Sunday, edging No. 5 Penn State in a vote by a selection committee. The Huskies will face No. 1 seed and defending national champion Alabama Dec. 31 at the Peach Bowl in Atlanta.

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SANTA CLARA, CA -- The play that sealed the Pac-12 Championship Friday night had nothing to do with good coaching or clever scheming or luck. It was pure athletic improvisation, which makes the Washington Huskies slightly scarier for the opponent they draw in the College Football Playoffs.

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Takeaway

Jake Browning never could get his passing game going, but Washington more than compensated with a punishing running game, a highlight-reel play by WR John Ross and three game-breaking interceptions to overwhelm Colorado 41-10 Friday night in the Pac-12 Championship game at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, CA (box). Unless protocol is stood on its head, Washington has played its way into the national semifinals.

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This story also appeared on Crosscut.

SANTA CLARA, CA. – The toughest part of coach Chris Petersen’s task is not devising a plan for his fourth-ranked Washington Huskies to beat eighth-ranked Colorado in the Pac-12 Conference championship starting at  6 p.m. Friday at Levi’s Stadium.Nor will it be figuring out how to bring asunder the colossus of No. 1 Alabama, the likely foe should the Huskies succeed Friday and advance for the first time to the College Football Playoffs Dec. 31 in Atlanta.

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Colorado QB Sefo Liufau comes from a strong Pac-12 Conference football tradition. His uncle, QB Jack Thompson, was the famed Throwin’ Samoan at Washington State, the most prolific passer in NCAA history through the 1970s. Now it is Liufau’s chance to turn heads with his nearly unique power style of play against Washington’s shutdown defense.

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I wrote the headline above hesitantly. I had never put the words together before, so it seemed foreign, in a learning-Mandarin kind of way. But I had to try it out because training is necessary in any venture to the frontier of human experience.

Imagining Seattle as a city of sports champions feels as awkward as putting the first jeans on Smokey the Bear. How is it possible?

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Washington's path to the College Football Playoffs cleared considerably Tuesday when the ranking committee slotted the Huskies at No. 4, up one spot over last week. With a win over No. 8 Colorado in the Pac-12 championship game Friday night in Santa Clara, CA., UW will likely lock down a spot in the national semifinals, probably against defending champion Alabama.

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Nine University of Washington players, most in school history, were named to the All-Pac-12 first team announced Tuesday, including quarterback Jake Browning, the Offensive Player of the Year. Ten other Huskies also received recognition, notably DB Taylor Rapp, the league's Defensive Freshman of the Year. Nine Huskies on the first team is a school record, breaking the mark of eight in 1990.

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Contrary to some skepticism among Huskies fans, coach Chris Petersen trusts that the College Football Playoff committee will do the right thing if CFP No. 5 Washington (11-1, 8-1) beats CFP No. 9 Colorado (10-2, 8-1) Friday to become Pac-12 Conference champion. He thinks UW will be selected for the four-team playoff field.

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